Following its world premiere earlier this month, the second-generation BMW X2 is celebrating its public debut at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo. It’s the first time we’re seeing the crossover-coupe mashup with a right-hand-drive layout, and this version comes painted in the striking Fire Red Metallic color, which is known as Vegas Red in the United States. It also happens to have the optional M Sport Package and 20-inch wheels.
Not Coming to the U.S.
Unlike the United States where the iX2 will not be available, this fully electric derivative is going to be sold in the Land of the Rising Sun. For the time being, BMW is going to sell the zero-emission model as an xDrive30 with dual motors and all-wheel drive but a cheaper eDrive20 with a single-motor, front-wheel-drive layout is due next summer.
Codenamed U10, the new X2 is a small crossover in name only because it’s just about as big as the first-generation X3 (E83). Images don’t really do it justice since the jump in size over the first generation is substantial. At 4554 mm long, 1845 mm wide, and 1560 mm, the new Sports Activity Coupe per BMW terminology is now all grown up. The new model has eschewed the original’s somewhat quirky shape in favor of a mini-X6 silhouette that should make it more appealing in the eyes of younger buyers.
Front-Wheel Based
As with other electric BMW models on sale today, the iX2 is based on the gasoline/diesel X2 but without the oily bits. It uses the same UKL2 platform developed for front-wheel-drive-based models with AWD support. The pair of motors draws its juice from a lithium-ion battery pack with a net capacity of 64.7 kWh, good for a WLTP range of up to 449 kilometers (279 miles).
Although the mechanically related X1 is also available as a plug-in hybrid, that’s not the case for its sleeker sibling since it doesn’t come as a PHEV. It’s the same story with the new MINI Countryman, which gets an EV variant, but the plug-in hybrid offered during the previous generation is no longer available.
None of these models we mentioned are a true entry-level EV offering from the BMW Group. Retired in 2022, the i3 hatchback is expected to return in the latter half of the decade on the Neue Klasse platform and likely be rebranded as the i1.
